Of the 58.4 million registered cars in Japan, figures show that roughly 1 in 10 exchange hands every year. Sounds like a lot, but what type of vehicles are sold and who’s buying them?

Cars in Japan are categorised into three groups depending on their size and engine capacity, as highlighted in the image above – kei, small and standard. Within these categories, by far and away, the most popular vehicle in present day Japan are those categorized as small:

31.1%or 23.47 Million Registered Small Cars.

23.9%or 17.98 Million Registered Kei Cars.

22.4%or 16.89 Million Registered Standard Cars.

Percentages displayed as a total of all 75.36 million registered vehicles on Japan’s roads

However, with small cars accounting for almost half of all registered vehicles in the early to mid-nineties, numbers have been decreasing year-on-year. Even with the Japanese manufacturers making increasingly smaller cars with roomier interiors and better fuel consumption, numbers in the domestic market continue to slide.

On the contrary, sales of Kei cars have soared almost two-fold throughout the noughties as manufacturers seek to entice Japan’s youth with their cute designs and lower tax rates, all at the relatively cheap price of around a million yen, new.

Standard cars on the other hand have remained relatively flat in numbers, not because of a decrease in sales, but because around three-quarters of all vehicle exports come from this category.

Which cars are popular within each category?

Whilst this is not to be used as a definite guide to the most popular cars in each category, the vehicles listed below have ranked high in the total number of sales over a number of years.

Honda Fit

Daihatsu Move

Toyota Estima

We’d be intrigued to know what your preference is. Kei, small or standard? Feel free to share in the comments section below.